Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

I’ve been blogging on and off for a few years now. What started as a personal library of reviews became so much more. I love the community I’ve found here and the sense of shared love for reading and books I loved too.

So with this week’s TTT, it really begs the question of what book I haven’t gushed about. If I enjoyed it, it’s probably here somewhere. Even if I didn’t love it, it’s probably here somewhere.

Yet I did manage to scrounge up some contenders. These books are ones I’ve read and enjoyed prior to my blogging days. It’s not that I didn’t want to spread the love, it’s more like I never had the time to play catch up.

So here are ten books/series I enjoyed yet rarely mentioned. It’s about time I suppose.

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth

This is obviously a classic and a beloved book, coming out in the height of YA dystopia. I liked book one more than the rest of them (I can’t even remember if I read Allegiant?) because the world building was so interesting and thought out. I would most definitely NOT be in Dauntless, just saying. Probably an Erudite, knowing me. Let’s just say teen Andge was very into the factions.

2. Across the Universe series by Beth Revis

Is it weird to say I got into this series because an actress on the show Castle was promoting it on social and I wanted to read it ’cause of her promotion? Probably weird, right? Regardless of how I found it, I really enjoyed the writing and storyline. I’m not the biggest fan of space books, but this was the first one that opened my eyes to the potential of such a genre. I was also super into my writing phase at the time so I was analyzing how the author wrote to gather tips for my own stories.

3. Scarlet Nights by Jude Deveraux

This is what happens when young Andge buys bargain books on the Costco book tables. She finds lovely romance reads that may contain mature-ish scenes here and there. Anywayyy. I loved the romantic angst of this book, which happens to be book 3 in the series. I enjoyed the romance more than book 1 – never read book 2 – and felt the pacing of the underlying mystery only added to how much I liked everything. I guess it’s not like the movies where I can close my eyes as a child through certain scenes but at least I was initiated by a great story.

4. The Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts

Not what I typically advertise on this blog because I’m generally not just a straight-up romance reader, but I do feel the mood for such books occasionally. One of my favourite romance series to date still is this quartet of books featuring 4 friends who run a wedding business. Young Andge never dreamt much about weddings – I still don’t even as an adult although I’m probably going to get married within the next year or so – but this tackled all the different ways to cater the dream wedding that it’s hard not to get lost in it a bit. Plus, the romances are absolutely top notch with some of the best tropes around. I will admit book 3 is my favourite of the 4 because it features falling for the best friend’s brother, someone she’s known for forever.

5. Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella

Yep, all the romantic reads I’ve hidden from you all are coming out. I believe this series is still ongoing – I had so much fun with Christmas Shopaholic not that long ago – but I absolutely fell in love with the OG books that started it all. While I liked book 1, is it weird that I fell more in love with Becky the crazier things got with her relationship and life? Book 4 and 5 were probably my favourites featuring the family drama of a long-lost sister who’s nothing like Becky and the ex that keeps hanging around her fiancé, respectively. The angst and drama were for real!

6. Golden by Jessi Kirby

There’s just something so real about Jessi’s writing, but I particularly loved the exploration of life, love and growth featured in this book of hers. It does try to explore a lot but it all worked out so well together. I remember finishing this book and needing to tell someone how I felt because the protagonist felt so much like where I was in life. Instead of writing a review (I didn’t think about that back then), I wrote the author instead, this longgg email that she actually kindly replied to. Here’s a snippet below:

Me: I feel like this story is a mirror’s reflection. I don’t know how you did it, but you were able to capture so much in Parker that I see in myself, probably the biggest part of me. Her inner thoughts were like my own, her reactions and situations similar to what I see my life as at this moment. I wanted to tell you that you did an amazing job capturing a mindset of a young girl who doesn’t know her way in life, her one wild and precious life, and you made it so that readers like me can connect with it to such a deep level.

Jessi: I’m so happy that you were able to relate to Parker and the story–that kind of connection is the best possible thing I could hope for as an author, so it warms my heart to know that you felt that! It sounds like you’re at that critical point in life where it’s all laid out in front of you and it’s up to you to choose which way you go, and I hope you go with your heart and your gut!

7. Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

Less known fact: this was the book the Disney movie Radio Rebel was based on. I was quite a shy, introverted teen girl (hmm, possibly still am in certain situations if I’m being honest), so this book also related to me a lot. I wanted to become the confident, sexy girl who could say and do whatever she wanted with full confidence, much like the protagonist. I liked how the story explored these things and made me feel seen as the quiet one who usually let the louder people overtake her voice. I found my voice eventually – see how I have a blog now? – but it’s books like these that helped validate my feelings and opinions.

8. Meg Cabot books

I mentioned a few series I love from Meg Cabot on the blog before (and no, not her popular Princess Diaries, sorry). So I will take this time to mention a number of her other books I loved. I loved Avalon High, which the Disney movie was based on, and the premise of the Airhead series was fun and thought-provoking at the same time. Honestly, pre-teen Andge was Meg’s hugest fan and I still own so many of her books today. I liked the variety in her writing, from some paranormal elements to your every day contemporary romances, every story had its unique spin. She was my first auto-buy author and I have no regrets at all.

9. Thunder Road series by Katie McGarry

I’ve blogged about Katie’s other series but I find that I never wrote review on these ones. It’s not to say I didn’t like them because I really did. Walk the Edge is probably tied as one of my favourite reads from Katie. Perhaps it was a mix of laziness to catch up on reviews and needing time to process my thoughts. Anyway, I love the romance and realistic exploration of teens at such a complex time in their lives mixed with the drama of growing up in dysfunctional families. I feel no one’s done it as well as she has in the books I’ve read since.

10. Alaska Twilight by Colleen Coble

I grew up reading mysteries, and Colleen is no stranger on my blog, but this was the first book of hers I’ve read before blogging began. I loved the wilderness feeling, the danger lurking in the shadows and no help in sight. The romance was great too, but it’s really the atmosphere in her writing that makes for such a great read. I will definitely continue reviewing her other and future books here, but there’s no better place than wrapping up this list to highlight one of the first wholesome mysteries I was exposed to when I was young.

Whoa, didn’t mean to make this post so long, but I hope you enjoyed getting to see some different book content than I may typically post on the blog these days. In a way, a lot of these books shaped my reading today and I have to give them credit for doing so.

I hope you have a lovely Tuesday! I’m always happy to hear from you in the comments below. Did you read any of these books I’ve mentioned? (I know, these totally date me, don’t they?)

wrap up

February 2022 Wrap Up and TBR

February 27, 2022 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Ah, February. The shortest month of the year. While there have definitely been plenty of ups and downs this month, I can only pray that the current downs in the world can only go up in March. I can only pray that love and peace will always win the day.

It sometimes feels a little trivial focusing on what I’ve read and such when there’re far greater things happening around me. I don’t know if you feel the same way. But I suppose we all need a little something to escape the darkness where we can. If stories can do that for you, I hope you find some solace in such a post like this.

What did I read this month?

It’s been a pretty decent read this month, and I’ve hit some of my goals towards reading different books including 2 graphics novels and 1 memoir.

Most surprising: The Maid surprised me on so many levels because it really wasn’t so much about the mystery after all (review here). It was about the protagonist’s journey and her unique voice/perspective that drove the story forward in the aftermath of a suspicious death at the grand hotel she works at. I absolutely adored the prose and felt like Molly was someone I wanted to see the world as. Reading the end was bittersweet because I didn’t want to let her go!

Hype is real: It’s hard when a book with so many expectations on it doesn’t meet those expectations which kind of ruins the whole experience. Fortunately, Only A Monster wasn’t like that at all, far surpassing what I thought the story would be (review here). Love triangles (one I actually liked) and a potentially vast world full of monsters within our own made for a very entertaining story I can’t wait to continue in the sequel.

Nonfiction shoutout: I came into Things I Should Have Said with minimal bias. I don’t really follow celebrity things like that and feel everyone deserves to give their story. Memoirs can be hit or miss for me, but I thought this was a great conversational story actress Jamie Lynn Spears divides into different parts of her life, focusing on family and faith. There really isn’t much about Britney in here besides the context of growing up with her in the same family. I’m happy I got to listen to this as an audiobook.

Most nostalgic: There’s nothing better than the Lunar Chronicles series reaching its 10th anniversary this year with its first book, Cinder. Perfect timing to read the graphic novels Wires and Nerve focusing on Cinder’s android bestie, Iko, with plenty of appearances from the rest of the gang. The world was great to enter into again, although it definitely needs to be read after the rest of the series.

Buddy reads: Thrillers is our thing here at DTRH and Elevator Pitch is no exception to this. Fives and I went on a fun journey with this story from renowned Canadian author (woot woot!) Linwood Barclay. Let’s just say I would hesitate when getting into an elevator after reading this. Full buddy review will come out next month!

Most Improved: I guess this is like the Participation ribbon in gym class? At least it’s something, right? The Crown of Gilded Bones (review here) was a vast improvement from its sequels and I suppose that’s why it’s rated better because there’s a comparison present. Is it the best piece of fantasy I’ve read? I can’t really say that, but will I continue to read the series? I’m sure some of you know by now I’m a glutton for punishment when it comes to these books.

Ratings:

5 Drink Me Potions

The Maid by Nita Prose

4 Drink Me Potions

Only A Monster by Vanessa Len
Wires and Nerve (volume 1 and 2) by Marissa Meyer

3.5 Drink Me Potions

The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Things I Should Have Said by Jamie Lynn Spears
Flirting with Forever by Kendall Ryan
Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay

2.5 Drink Me Potions

The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra

Current reading list

The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr

TBR list

Being Mary Bennet by JC Peterson
The Iron Sword by Julie Kagawa
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

And that wraps up February! Next month will be a long and busy one for me so we will see how reading goes. There are plenty of amazing reads coming out so stay tuned for our monthly anticipations post!

Stay safe everyone! And may we stand in love and solidarity with one another 🇺🇦

5 star, adult

Review: The Maid by Nita Prose

February 26, 2022February 26, 2022 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

People are a mystery that can never be solved.

When it comes to cozy mysteries, there’s nothing more interesting than a good protagonist to follow on their journey. The Maid is very different from the regular thrillers and mysteries I usually partake in, but it excelled at bringing to life the world of Molly Gray through her eyes. It’s really a discovery of who she is while wrapped up in a murder mystery.

Molly isn’t like the usual characters I read. I get it, she’s not necessarily unique when it comes to neurodivergent individuals in fiction, or perhaps not even the most well-done. But I rather enjoyed my time looking through her eyes. Yes, she misses cues and cannot read between the lines that are said. However, I enjoyed how that integrated well with the story and her personal growth through the ordeal at her work place, the Regency Grand. I know there are people who want to definitively know if Molly is on the autistic spectrum. It’s never made explicit possibly because she was never diagnosed in her life. I’m not here to say whether it should’ve been made clear or not. I also cannot say whether her perspective was accurate to people on the spectrum. You’ll have to read those reviews elsewhere. What I’m here to talk about is what I got from Molly’s story.

Right away, I knew the writing style and protagonist perspective worked for me. Molly loves order, and what is more orderly than cleaning? She’s made for this work, minus the fact that reading people she has to interact with (coworkers, guests, etc.) makes things a bit tricky. But that’s where her Gran’s lessons come in. I loved her relationship with Gran. Even though she had passed away prior to the events of the story, her presence is very much there through Molly’s memories and thoughts.

The story flow progresses well as we move through what would’ve been a typical work week for Molly that becomes very quickly anything but. The focus is less on the murder, though of course it impacts Molly’s life, and more on the minute changes and details she observes in the aftermath that may come useful in finding out the truth.

There are a slew of characters around Molly. It quickly becomes evident (to us at least) who is friendly and who’s taking advantage of her inability to read between the lines. It made me reflect on all these things that seem obvious to me but perhaps isn’t to everyone. Is a smile always good or do we use them negatively? Does someone saying they’ll “take care of your family” always mean something helpful or good, or can it come across as a threat? It’s just fascinating seeing such an interaction through Molly’s lens. ~~Sometimes~~ Very often I found myself wanting to help her figure out friend or foe before it’s too late!

The one minor disappointment here is that there’s definitely no big part that Molly plays in the mystery solving component. Sure, she’s suspected as the killer but I had hopes she would play a bigger role in untangling everything. It’s no locked room mystery if that’s what you’re looking for.

However, what I came here for (the mystery) was easily outweighed by the marvellous journey it was to see Molly grow and make new relationships after losing her strongest and only ally. It was heartwarming and delightful as we witness the woman she was becoming through this ordeal. The mystery is present and mildly predictable (well, with maybe a twist I didn’t see coming), but the star of the show is truly Molly. Who can’t help loving a book when the protagonist charmed me so very much?

If that’s what you’re looking for, then you’re in for a cozy treat.

Overall Recommendation:

The Maid delivers a riveting story following Molly Gray, a woman who sees the world differently than most of us. Her keen perception of her surroundings make her a great maid, but also a valuable asset when figuring out a murder. I loved reading through her perspective. It made the world a brighter place even when things were not going so well for her. The mystery is definitely second tier in this book, but I find myself hardly caring because Molly is the book and her journey figuring out more of the world and her place in it made my heart grow another size. It’s well worth the read!

Author: Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Enjoyed and Rarely Mentioned On the Blog